Printer Friendly Printed from http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/314590 Advancing Drug Discovery Through Structure-Guided Drug Design Description: Knowledge of protein structure is extremely valuable in drug discovery and development and extremely difficult to obtain. To date, researchers have determined 3D protein structures for only a small percentage of known genomic sequences, largely because they are handicapped by technically challenging, often cumbersome technologies. In general, the available tools do not satisfy the demand for rapid delivery of accurate information about pharmaceutically relevant molecules. Consequently, scientists are seeking new ways to exploit the structural information they have and using technologies in innovative ways. In this report, we review progress in protein-structure determination, and we profile emerging companies that are exploiting structure data in novel ways for drug discovery and development. We also discuss major hurdles to be overcome and the outlook for the application of protein-structure determination to drug discovery and design. Business Implications - The number of putative protein drug targets available has increased rapidly, but the challenges of elucidating protein structure remain. The number of putative targets still vastly exceeds the number of known structures. Because structure information is very valuable for guiding drug design, researchers are aggressively seeking faster ways to obtain it. - Computational techniques and software for predicting structure have greatly improved over the last few years. However, these tools are often inaccurate and require great expertise. As a result, they are mostly used as adjuncts to drug discovery and have not prompted a revolution in drug design. - The bottleneck in the structure-determination field has prompted pharmaceutical researchers to look for shortcuts and new technological approaches. Companies such as Structural GenomiX and Takeda San Diego (formerly Syrrx) have made substantial progress in accelerating structure determination and are now shifting to drug discovery. - Fragment-based design is an important new approach. By using small fragments as starting points, pioneers in this field, including Plexxikon and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, hope to speed and improve lead selection and optimization. The field is advancing quickly and has already generated development compounds. - Structure-guided drug design (SGDD) apparently has not yet conferred any significant advantage in drug discovery, except in fields for which substantial structural data are available (e.g., HIV, influenza). It will take five to ten years for SGDD methods to become widely applicable across a range of targets. Contents: Introduction Progress and Challenges in Structure Determination and SGDD Accelerating Structure Determination Fragment-Based Design Company Profiles Outlook for SGDD Table 1. Select Drugs Developed Using Structure-Guided Design Table 2. Milestones for Select Fragment-Based Drug Discovery Companies Table 3. Dealmaking Activity of Select Structure-Guided Drug Design Companies Figure 1. The Relationship Between Molecular Weight and Clinical Success Figure 2. Sunesis Tethering Technology Companies Mentioned - Astex Technology - Cengent Therapeutics - De Novo Pharmaceuticals - Locus Pharmaceuticals - Plexxikon - Structural GenomiX - Takeda San Diego (formerly Syrrx) Ordering: Order Online - visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/314590 Order by Fax - using the order form below Order By Post - print the order form below and send to Research and Markets, Guinness Centre, Taylors Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland. Page 1 of 2 Printed 30/08/2008 12:33:01 Fax Order Form To place an order via fax simply print this form, fill in the information below and fax the completed form to the number at the bottom of this page. 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